It shows the artist at the peak of his fame, holding a palette and surrounded by studio objects.

[1] Like his teacher Rembrandt before him, Dou created several self-portraits, probably on commission for specific patrons who owned more than one of his works.

He stands at a window, holding palette and brushes in his left hand, and turning over with his right the leaves of a large book lying on the sill.

A curtain hangs over the window-sill, partly covering the well-known relief by Duquesnoy of children playing with a he-goat, which is underneath the window.

Arnold Houbraken admired Dou so much he started his second volume of painter biographies called the Schouburgh with his biography, calling him with his contemporary Bartholomeus van der Helst "two guiding lights in the arts" and illustrating their portraits with two burning wicks.